Rolling cover system motor mount

ABSTRACT

A motorized rolling cover system for covering the top of an open-top vehicle. The system includes a cover, a shaft, a motor assembly, an arm assembly and a motor mount that supports the motor assembly on the arm assembly. The motor mount is pivotally attached to the end of the arm assembly to provide pivotal movement of the mount in a single plane. The plane of pivotal movement is either the same as (i.e., parallel to) the plane defined by the arm and the shaft, or is perpendicular to the arm-shaft plane.

REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationSer. No. 61/533,521, filed on Sep. 12, 2011, the contents of which areincorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates generally to rolling cover systems. Moreparticularly, it relates to motorized rolling cover systems for open-topvehicles such as grain trailers.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Open-top vehicles are commonly used to transport bulk products such asgrain and sand because the opening enables the bulk product to bequickly deposited into the vehicle from above. A drawback of the opentop is that the product may be blown or jostled out of the open top ofthe vehicle as it moves down the road. The lost material not onlyreduces the amount of the load ultimately delivered to its finaldestination, but also may hit or otherwise damage other vehicles orpersons on the road.

Another drawback of open top vehicles is that the product is exposed tothe ambient environment such as rain, hail, snow, high winds and directsunlight. Those factors may damage the product. For example, bulk grainis vulnerable to rain and snow.

Canvas and vinyl covers were developed to cover the open top. Earlysystems incorporated hardware that rolled the cover between an openconfiguration on one side of the top of the truck box or trailer and aclosed configuration in which the cover was spread over the top andsecured in position. Examples of manually operated cover systems aredisclosed in Sibley, U.S. Pat. No. 3,546,197; Sibley, U.S. Pat. No.3,549,199; Sibley, U.S. Pat. No. 3,628,826; Bachand et al., U.S. Pat.No. 3,868,142; Peteratti, U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,347; Peteratti, U.S. Pat.No. 4,126,351; Dimmer U.S. Pat. No. Re. 31,746, and Compton, U.S. Pat.No. 4,516,802.

In the Dimmer prior art patent, a crank shaft is connected to the rolltube (that carries the cover) by a Universal joint. The U-joint allowsthe crank shaft to be used in two ways. First, it is used for rollingand unrolling, by pulling the shaft away from the trailer, and rotatingit. Because the U-joint is unlocked when the shaft is moved away fromthe trailer, the rotational movement of the crank is transmitted torotate the tube. Rotation of the roll tube unfurls the material on theroll shaft across the open top to cover it.

The second use of the U-joint is to lock the roll tube in place. Whenthe rolling or unrolling described above is completed, the operatorbrings the shaft the back toward the trailer to a more perpendicularorientation relative to the roll tube. In this position, the U-joint islocked and further rotational movement of both the crank and the tube isprevented. This is the configuration when the truck box or trailer ismoved on the highway.

More recently, motorized cover systems were developed. Such systemseliminated the crank shaft and U-joint, and attached an electric motorto the end of the roll shaft where the U-joint was previously located.An arm supported the motor in place at the height of the top of thetruck box or trailer as it rolled the roll shaft from one side of thetrailer to another. The arm also secured the motor against counterrotational forces resulting from the torque applied by the motor to theroll shaft. The other end of the arm was pivotally attached to thetrailer to allow the arm to sweep across the front of the trailer fromopen to closed position, or in the reverse direction.

A motorized cover system is shown in Schmeichel, U.S. Pat. No. 7,188,887(see also U.S. Pat. No. 7,195,304). It shows a cover system with motorattached to the end of a roll shaft to roll the shaft from an open orunrolled position to a closed configuration. The motor is mounted on anarm assembly that includes two arm sections that are flexibly connectedto each other.

In typical prior art motorized cover systems, the motor is welded orotherwise rigidly attached to the arm, as illustrated in FIG. 2 of theSchmeichel patent. The rigidity of the attachment transferred the torqueof the motor to the roller or roll shaft. Some movement of the motor ina generally upward direction was allowed by the flexible connectionbetween the two arm sections. This accommodated the variance in distancebetween the pivot point of the arm attachment to the truck and the topof the trailer (or heap load extending above the top of the trailer).However, because the motor was rigidly connected both to the arm and theroll shaft, the second arm section-shaft angle never varied.

This operation is not problematic if all the components are truly squareand perpendicular (or close to perpendicular) both when manufactured andduring the life span of the cover system. In reality, trailers notfabricated to perfect specifications, and arms and roll tubes may bebent during installation. Further departure from optimum angles occursduring use over time as a result of collusions with loading machinery,other vehicles, or materials on their way into or out of the box ortrailer.

An example of a departure from desired angles and specifications occurswhen the roll tube or shaft becomes bent. In this situation, the angleof the axis of the portion of the roll shaft attached to the motorvaries from a right angle with the arm. If the axis of the end of theshaft angles downward relative to the axis of a perfectly straight (notbent) shaft, there is a force applied against the arm-shaft connectiontoward expanding the angle to more than 90 degrees. On the other hand,if the shaft angles upward, there is a force applied against thearm-shaft connection toward reducing the angle to less than 90 degrees.

In the bent shaft situation, the rolling and unrolling operationscontinuously varies the angle of the force on the arm-shaft connection.During a single rotation, there will be substantial force to try tonarrow the arm-shaft angle to less than 90 degrees against the rigidconnection, as well as substantial force trying to widen the angle. (Itwill also twist the second arm section to the right and the left.) Thecenter line of the drive shaft of the motor (or transmission) attemptsto follow the axis of the roll tube and twist about both the verticaland horizontal axes, transferring this force to the weld or other rigidattachment between the motor or motor mount and the arm.

During the entire opening or closing operation, there are manyrotations, creating an oscillating stress at this attachment, down thearm and across the length of the shaft. Over time, this createsexcessive wear and premature deterioration of the cover and metal parts,and potentially the catastrophic failure of the arm-motor connection.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The motorized cover system contemplated herein includes many of the samestructural features described above for prior art motorized coversystems. However, destructive oscillating stresses at the arm-shaftconnection, down the arm and along the shaft are now at least partiallyrelieved. This is accomplished without loss of the rigidity needed totransfer the torque of the motor to the end of the roll shaft. Hence,the problem is reduced or eliminated, without prejudicing either thetransfer of torque from motor to shaft or the integrity of arm-shaftconnection.

This improvement is obtained by providing a structure that allows themotor mount to pivot relative to the end of the arm to which it ismounted. The motor resides in a conventional mount, but the attachmentof the mount to the end of the arm allows a hinge-type movement in asingle plane. The motor can move in response to the oscillating forcesdescribed above and the stress at the arm-shaft connection, and down thearm or along the shaft, are reduced or eliminated.

The solution contemplated herein includes two different, hinge-typeembodiments. In one, the motor or motor mount attachment to the armallows movement in a plane that is perpendicular to the plane defined bythe upper section of the arm and the roll shaft. In the other, theattachment allows movement in a plane that is parallel to the planedefined by the upper arm section and the roll shaft. A third alternativeutilizes a resilient, flexible material for the mount that allowslimited movement of the mount in response to the oscillating force. Thelimited nature of the movement provided by these connections preservesthe necessary stability of the motor or motor mount relative to the armneeded to assure that the motor's torque is efficiently transferred tothe roll shaft.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings are included to provide a furtherunderstanding of embodiments and are incorporated in and constitute apart of this specification. The drawings illustrate embodiments andtogether with the description serve to explain principles of the subjectmatter contemplated herein. Other embodiments, though not specificallydescribed herein, and many of their intended advantages, will beappreciated by reference to the following details, without limitation tothe true scope of the inventive subject matter. In the drawings, thevarious parts are not necessarily to scale relative to each other, andlike reference numerals designate corresponding similar parts.

FIG. 1 is a front view of a trailer in which a first embodiment of themotorized rolling cover system is mounted.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a trailer in which the first embodiment hasbeen mounted.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the second arm section, motor mountingand electric motor assembly of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the second arm section, motor mounting andelectric motor assembly of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the second arm section, motor mounting andelectric motor assembly of the first embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a top view of the second arm section, motor mounting andelectric motor assembly of the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the second arm section, motor mountingand electric motor assembly of a second embodiment of the motorizedrolling cover system.

FIG. 8 is a front view of the second arm section, motor mounting andelectric motor assembly of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the second arm section, motor mounting andelectric motor assembly of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a top view of the second arm section, motor mounting andelectric motor assembly of the first embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Multiple embodiments are described herein. The first embodiment, shownin FIGS. 1-6, provides for pivotal movement of the motor assembly in oneplane. A second embodiment, shown in FIGS. 7-10, provides for pivotalmovement in a different plane. Both accomplish similar benefits andobjectives.

With respect to FIGS. 1 and 2, a rolling cover system 10 is used inconjunction with an open-top vehicle 12 for transporting bulk productlike grain. The open-top vehicle 12 includes front, back 14, and sidewalls that extend from a base wall and that together define an enclosedregion in which the bulk product may be placed. The open top of thevehicle 12 facilitates placing and removing bulk product into the spaceenclosed by the walls.

The motorized rolling cover system 10 enables a cover 20 to be movedbetween an open configuration and a closed configuration without anoperator needing to manually operate the rolling cover system 10 byrotating a crank. Such a motorized rolling cover system 10 may not onlyoperate more quickly than the manual system but also does not requirethe operator to stand outside and be exposed to environmental elementssuch as rain, hail, snow, or cold or hot temperatures while operatingthe rolling cover system 10. The cover 20 may be a tarp made of vinyl,canvas or other flexible material known for such a use.

The rolling cover system 10 includes a motor assembly 22 mounted on theend of a roll shaft 24 on which the cover 20 is rolled. The motorassembly includes a motor, brake (not separately shown) and three-stageplanetary transmission 23. Typically, the motor provides about 250ft-lbs. of torque output, and the transmission reduces the RPM's andincreases the torque by a factor of 120:1.

The motor has a drive shaft that is operably connected to an input shaftof a transmission 23. The transmission 23 also has an output shaft 25,that shaft 25 is rigidly connected to the roll shaft 24. Preferably, theconnection transmission output shaft 25 is coaxial to the roll shaft 24.The motor assembly 22 causes the roll shaft 24 to rotate about itslongitudinal axis to move the cover 20 between the rolled configurationand the unrolled configuration. When the cover 20 is in the rolledconfiguration, the cover 20 is wrapped around the shaft 24. When thecover is in the unrolled configuration, it covers the opening of theopen-top vehicle.

The motor assembly 22 may vary and still take advantage of the benefitsprovided by the rolling cover system 10 considered herein. The motor ofmotor assembly 22 is preferably electric with power for the motor 22provided by a wire or wires that are routed to the power studs 29 ofmotor 22 through an arm assembly 30, the structure of which is discussedin more detail below.

The motor assembly 22 is attached to the arm assembly 30. The armassembly 30 may be a single arm or, preferably, includes two armsections. The first arm section 32 is attached to the second arm section34 by a flexible elbow 35. The flexible elbow 35 allows the second armsection 34 to bend relative to the first arm section 32. Typically, theelbow 35 is spring biased to orient the two arm sections coaxially toone another. Such flexibly attached arm sections have been previouslyused, as described above.

A proximal end 40 of the first arm section 32 is pivotally mounted tothe vehicle 12. To accommodate differences in truck box and trailerdesign and shape, a spacer 42 may be utilized to operably attach thefirst arm section 32 to the front wall on the vehicle 12. For example,the spacer 42 may compensate for the side of the vehicle 12 beingoriented at a non-vertical orientation such as is found on certaintrailers.

As shown assembled and mounted in FIGS. 1 and 2, the longitudinal axisof the second arm section 34 is oriented perpendicular or nearlyperpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first arm. As the rollshaft moves across the top of the vehicle and furls the cover, and thearm sweeps from right to left (as shown in FIG. 1) like the second handof a watch (in counterclockwise direction as shown in the FIG. 1), theflexible elbow 35 bends. As a result, the angle between the longitudinalaxes of the first and second arm sections varies. This accommodates thechange in distance between the proximal end 40 of the first arm sectionand the roll shaft 24 as the roll shaft 24 is rolled or unrolled acrossthe top of the vehicle.

A bore (not shown) extends through the arm assembly 30. A wire or wiresrunning through the bore is substantially enclosed except for where itdeparts the opposite ends of the arm assembly 30. The bore therebyprotects the wire(s) from exposure to the elements and other causes ofpremature deterioration or damage. At the distal end of the second armsection 34, the wires depart the arm and can be attached to the powerstuds 29 of the motor of the motor assembly 22.

The first arm section 32 and the second arm section 34 may each befabricated from a rigid material that resists deformation when the motor22 is operated to move the cover 20 between the rolled configuration andthe unrolled configuration. The first arm section 32 and the second armsection 34 may each be fabricated from a metallic material.

In an alternative embodiment, the arm assembly 30 is pivotally andslidably mounted to the vehicle. Using such a configuration allows adistance between the pivot point and the distal end of the arm assembly30 to vary as the arm assembly 30 is pivoted with respect to thevehicle.

FIGS. 3-6 show multiple views of the second arm section 34, motor mount50 and motor assembly 22. The motor assembly 22 is operably attached tothe distal end of the second arm section 34 utilizing a motor mount 50.A variety of mechanisms may be used for attaching the motor 22 to themotor mount 50, but it is typically bolted thereto. Preferably, themotor mount 50 includes apertures 54 used for securing the motorassembly 22 to the motor mount 50. The motor mount 50 includes a frontwall 53 and a pair of side walls 55 that each extend from a base wall.The side walls 55 include ears 59 that project from the motor mount 50,and the ears may each include an aperture 51.

The motor mount 50 is fabricated from a rigid material that resistsdeformation when the motor 22 is operated to move the cover 20 betweenthe rolled configuration and the unrolled configuration. The motor mount50 may be fabricated from a metallic material, preferably aluminum. Asingle piece of aluminum can be formed or cut, and then bent to createthe front wall 53 and side walls 55. A collar 61 is welded to the sidewalls 55 to provide additional security against movement of the motorassembly out of the mount 50, and protects the transmission 23 fromcollision or other damage in the field.

Connecting plate 63 is attached to the motor mount 50 by use ofconnecting plate flanges 65. In particular, the flanges 65 in theconnecting plate and ears 59 in mount 50 are pivotally attached to oneanother. This is preferably accomplished by securing mounting bolts 67and axles (not shown) through each of the two sets of apertures in theears 59 and the flanges 65 that allow the mount 50 to pivot relative tothe connecting plate and the second arm section 34 on which theconnecting plate is attached. Thus is formed a pivotal attachment meansor structure between the connecting plate on the arm and the motor mounton which the motor assembly is mounted.

Although allowing movement in a single plane, this pivot connectionrestricts rotation and movement of the mount 50 in other directions.That is, the pivoting movement of the mount 50 relative to the secondarm section is restricted to a single plane. That plane will varyrelative to an up-down, plumb line orientation as the motor assembly 22,second arm section 34 and roll shaft 24, move across the top of thevehicle. However, the plane of movement will not vary significantlyrelative to the plane defined by the second arm section 34 and the rollshaft 24. For the first embodiment, the movement of the mount 50 isrestricted to the plane that is perpendicular to the plane defined bythe second arm section 34 and the roll shaft 24.

A certain amount of pivotal movement is desired. Generally at least 10degrees of movement is desirable to obtain the benefits contemplatedherein. Preferably, 15 degrees of movement is provided. No additionalstructure is needed to prevent pivoting to too large an angle within theallowed plane. The maximum amount of pivotal movement experienced by themount 50 is constrained by other structures and forces.

The pivotal connection of the motor mount 50, and thereby the motorassembly 22, relative to second arm section 34 allows movement thatrelieves stress otherwise experienced by those structures as whenopening and closing the cover 20. The stress results, for example, ifthe portion of the shaft 24 near the motor is not oriented substantiallyparallel to an upper surface of the vehicle 12. This non-parallelrelationship may be caused by a variety of factors such as if the shaft24 is bent during use of the vehicle 12.

The motor mount 50 also facilitates operation where the upper arm 34 isnot substantially perpendicular to motor 22 and shaft 24. This can occurwhen spacer 42 is not the optimal height, or when the front face of thetrailer is not perpendicular to shaft 24.

The motor mount 50 thereby reduces or eliminates certain forces appliedto the components of the rolling cover system 10 caused by anon-parallel configuration. Such forces could lead to prematuredegradation of the components of the rolling cover system 10. Thisdegradation could result in catastrophic failure of the arm-shaftconnection or require premature replacement of the components of therolling cover system 10 at significant expense.

FIGS. 7-10 show a second embodiment that differs from the firstembodiment in the orientation of the pivot of the mount 50 relative tothe arm-shaft plane. The mount 50 and motor assembly are essentially thesame. The differences relate to the orientation of the pivotalconnection of the mount 50 to the second arm section 34. In the secondembodiment, the end of the second arm section 34 is attached to themotor mount 50 by connecting plate 70. This plate has flanges 72containing apertures. Those apertures align with apertures in the ears59 of mount 50. Mounting bolts 67 and axles (not shown) placed throughthe apertures provide pivotal connection of mount 50 to the distal endof the second arm section 34.

The orientation of the pivotal movement in the second embodiment isrotated 90 degrees relative to the first embodiment. As with the firstembodiment, the second arm section 34 and the roll shaft 24 define asingle plane throughout the movement of the roll shaft 24 from an openposition to a closed position. However, the second embodiment providespivotal movement of the mount parallel to (or in the same plane as) theplane defined by the shaft 24 and second arm section 34.

In an alternative embodiment that does not use a hinge-type connectionbetween the second arm section 34 and motor mount 50, the motor mount 50may be fabricated from a resilient material that is flexible in responseto forces placed on the motor 22 or motor mount 50 as the motor 22 movesthe cover 20 between the rolled configuration and the unrolledconfiguration. One such resilient material is an elastomeric materialsuch as rubber. The amount of desired flex of the mount 50 relative tothe second arm section 34 should be at least 10 degrees, and preferably15 degrees.

In the preceding detailed description, reference is made to theaccompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and in which is shownby way of illustration specific embodiments in which the invention maybe practiced. It is to be understood that other embodiments may beutilized and changes may be made without departing from the scope of thepresent invention. The preceding detailed description, therefore, is notto be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the inventiondescribed herein is defined by the appended claims.

It is contemplated that features disclosed in this application, as wellas those described in the above applications incorporated by reference,can be mixed and matched to suit particular circumstances. Various othermodifications and changes will be apparent to those of ordinary skill.

The invention claimed is:
 1. A motorized rolling cover system forreversibly covering the top of an open-top vehicle, the systemcomprising: an arm having first and second sections, wherein the firstsection is attachable to an open-top vehicle; an elbow connecting thefirst section to the second section to allow the first section to bendwith respect to the second section; an electric motor assembly attachedto the second section of the arm opposite of the elbow; pivotalattachment means for attaching the electric motor assembly to the secondsection of the arm to allow pivot movement of the electric motorassembly relative to the second section of the arm; and, a roll shaftrigidly attached to the electric motor assembly and adapted to roll andunroll a cover across the open top of the vehicle, the roll shaft beingsubstantially perpendicular to the arm; wherein the second section ofthe arm is elongated with a longitudinal axis, and wherein the pivotalattachment means allows relative movement of the electric motor assemblyin a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the second sectionof the arm and the roll shaft.
 2. The motorized rolling cover system ofclaim 1, further comprising a motor mount, and wherein the motor issupported by the motor mount, and the motor mount is pivotally mountedto the second section of the arm opposite of the elbow.
 3. The motorizedrolling cover system of claim 1, wherein the electric motor assemblycomprises an electric motor and a transmission.
 4. The motorized rollingcover system of claim 3, wherein the electric motor assembly furthercomprises an output shaft.
 5. The motorized rolling cover system ofclaim 3, wherein the electric motor assembly has a drive shaft, and thedrive shaft is coaxial to the roll shaft.
 6. The motorized rolling coversystem of claim 1, wherein the pivotal attachment means allows relativemovement of the electric motor assembly within one plane.
 7. Themotorized rolling cover system of claim 1, wherein the second section ofthe arm is elongated with a longitudinal axis, and wherein the pivotalattachment means allows relative movement of the electric motor assemblyin a plane parallel to a plane defined by the arm and the roll shaft. 8.The motorized rolling cover system of claim 1, wherein the pivotalattachment means allows pivotal movement of the electric motor assemblyrelative to the second section of the arm of at least 10 degrees.
 9. Themotorized rolling cover system of claim 1 wherein the pivotal attachmentmeans allows the electric motor assembly to move at least 10 degreesrelative to the second arm section.
 10. The motorized rolling coversystem of claim 1 wherein the elbow is a flexible elbow.
 11. A motorizedrolling cover system for reversibly covering the top of an open-topvehicle, the system comprising: an arm having first and second sectionsconnected by an elbow, the first arm section having an end pivotallyattachable to an open-top vehicle; a motor mount pivotally attached tothe distal end of the second arm section opposite of the elbow; pivotalattachment means for attaching the motor mount to the second arm sectionto allow pivotal movement of the motor mount relative to the second armsection; an electric motor assembly attached to the motor mount, theelectric motor assembly comprising a motor and a transmission, thetransmission having an output shaft substantially perpendicular to thesecond section of the arm; and, a roll shaft attached to thetransmission output shaft and coaxial to the output shaft, the rollshaft adapted to roll and unroll a cover across the open top of thevehicle; wherein the pivotal attachment means allows relative movementof the electric motor assembly only in a plane perpendicular to theplane defined by the second arm section and the roll shaft.
 12. Themotorized rolling cover system of claim 11, wherein the pivotalattachment means allows the motor mount to pivot by at least 10 degreesrelative to the second arm section.
 13. The motorized rolling coversystem of claim 11 wherein the elbow is a flexible elbow.
 14. Amotorized rolling cover system for reversibly covering the top of anopen-top vehicle, the system comprising: an arm having first and secondsections connected by an elbow, the first arm section having an endpivotally attachable to an open-top vehicle; a motor mount pivotallyattached to the distal end of the second arm section opposite of theelbow; pivotal attachment means for attaching the motor mount to thesecond arm section to allow pivotal movement of the motor mount relativeto the second arm section; an electric motor assembly attached to themotor mount, the electric motor assembly comprising a motor and atransmission, the transmission having an output shaft substantiallyperpendicular to the second section of the arm; and, a roll shaftattached to the transmission output shaft and coaxial to the outputshaft, the roll shaft adapted to roll and unroll a cover across the opentop of the vehicle; wherein the pivotal attachment means allows relativemovement of the electric motor assembly only in a plane parallel to theplane defined by the second arm section and the roll shaft.